Gillespies unveils senior management promotions

Following the recent retirement of Managing Partner Steve Wardell, Gillespies has announced a series of promotions within their senior management team, to strengthen and ensure continuity of leadership in the practice’s Oxford office.

Oliver Smith has been promoted to Partner, reflecting his instrumental role in leading the practices’ Oxford studio and expanding the firm’s UK and Russian portfolio over many years, having joined the practice 18 years ago as a graduate landscape architect.

Oliver has successfully led large multi-disciplinary teams in the delivery of a wide range of projects in the UK, Russia, the Far East and the Middle East. He recently completed a high-quality public realm for Westgate Oxford, Oxford’s newest retail and leisure destination, as well as a green campus environment for the RIBA award-winning Dyson Headquarters in Malmesbury. He is currently working on a number of prestigious residential developments in central Moscow.

Michael De Wet, Sheena Bell and William (Bill) Basterfield have been appointed to Associate Partners and Karolina Skonieczna and Andrew Rose have been made Associates.

Jim Diggle, the new Managing Partner at Gillespies, said;

"I am delighted to congratulate Oliver, Bill, Michael, Sheena, Andy and Karolina on their new roles. It has always been our desire as a practice to recognise and reward skill and talent and promote from within. Each has significantly contributed to our success as a business and their breadth of expertise and skills will be invaluable as we collectively embark on the next exciting stage of our practice’s development.”

Image (clockwise): Oliver Smith, William (Bill) Basterfield, Michael De Wet, Karolina Skonieczna, Andrew Rose and Sheena Bell.